Head to head · Boys' names
Bennett vs Mason
#40 vs #39 in 2025
Mason is a whisker ahead (#39 vs #40 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Mason is stepping back from its peak, Bennett is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Bennett has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Mason leads 4 measures of 6; Bennett leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Bennett #538, Mason #472 — Mason higher
- 1890s: Bennett #635, Mason #478 — Mason higher
- 1900s: Bennett #628, Mason #488 — Mason higher
- 1910s: Bennett #612, Mason #529 — Mason higher
- 1920s: Bennett #629, Mason #565 — Mason higher
- 1930s: Bennett #613, Mason #654 — Bennett higher
- 1940s: Bennett #597, Mason #690 — Bennett higher
- 1950s: Bennett #547, Mason #792 — Bennett higher
- 1960s: Bennett #620, Mason #778 — Bennett higher
- 1970s: Bennett #948, Mason #550 — Mason higher
- 1980s: Bennett #730, Mason #390 — Mason higher
- 1990s: Bennett #608, Mason #123 — Mason higher
- 2000s: Bennett #399, Mason #46 — Mason higher
- 2010s: Bennett #173, Mason #6 — Mason higher
- 2020s: Bennett #75, Mason #27 — Mason higher
Mason stood higher in 11 of 15 decades; Mason has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Bennett | Mason |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #538 | #472 |
| 1890s | #635 | #478 |
| 1900s | #628 | #488 |
| 1910s | #612 | #529 |
| 1920s | #629 | #565 |
| 1930s | #613 | #654 |
| 1940s | #597 | #690 |
| 1950s | #547 | #792 |
| 1960s | #620 | #778 |
| 1970s | #948 | #550 |
| 1980s | #730 | #390 |
| 1990s | #608 | #123 |
| 2000s | #399 | #46 |
| 2010s | #173 | #6 |
| 2020s | #75 | #27 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Bennett
- Canada#41
Mason
- Scotland#41
- Canada#44
- England & Wales#63
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Bennett
Blessed
From Latin benedictus, literally 'well spoken of' — bene ('well') plus dictus ('spoken').
Benedictus → Benedict → Bennet → Bennett
How it traveled
The root is Benedictus, the Latin name borne by Benedict of Nursia, the sixth-century monk whose rule shaped monastic life across Western Europe. Carried into England by the church, the name was worn down in ordinary speech to Bennet, and by the Middle Ages that spoken form had settled into a hereditary surname — Bennett, Bennet, Benett — recorded across English parish registers for generations.
Mason
stoneworker, stonemason
The surname comes straight from the medieval occupation, and the trade word itself traces back through Old French to a Germanic root tied to making or building.
maçon (Old French) → Mason (English surname) → Mason (given name)
How it traveled
Mason is an English occupational surname, from Old French maçon, a worker in stone — a word that reached the language after 1066 and stuck fast, because cathedrals, castles and city walls kept masons in steady work. As a hereditary surname it was carried by families all over medieval and early modern England.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Bennett
BEN-it
Stress on the first syllable. The second syllable is light — closer to 'it' than 'ett'. Rarely misheard, though people who know the surname sometimes reach for the single-t spelling.
- Ben — The default short form, and a long-established given name in its own right for boys.
- Benny — Informal and affectionate; more often used at home than on paper.
- Bennie — An older spelling of the same short form, still seen among earlier generations.
- Bee — An occasional family nickname drawn from the first letter rather than the full form.
Mason
MAY-suhn
Stress on the first syllable. Because the word is ordinary English, almost no one hesitates over it, and it survives phone calls and roll-call intact.
- Mase — The standard informal short form in English; used by family and friends rather than on paperwork.
- Mace — A less common spelling of the same short form; occasionally seen as a standalone name.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Bennett if you want…
- a name on the way upup 61 places on the charts in five years
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Ben, Benny and Bennie
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 60% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 85% for Mason
Choose Mason if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMason is stepping back from its peak
- a name that charts abroad tooMason is on the national lists of Scotland, Canada and England & Wales
- a name that feels very nowMason is stepping back from its peak
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Bennett
Strengths
- The spelling is already known to almost everyone through the surname, so it is written correctly far more often than most surname-names.
- Ben is a ready-made short form with centuries of use behind it, giving the name a shorter register without inventing one.
- One pronunciation, two clear syllables, no silent letters — it survives phone calls and roll call intact.
To consider
- It is climbing quickly. A child born now may find the name feels considerably more common by the time they are in middle school than it does at the hospital.
- Bennet with one t is the Austen spelling, and Bennette turns up too. Expect an occasional correction, though the two-t form is the one most people default to.
- Given to girls only rarely at this spelling. A girl named Bennett will often be assumed male on paperwork before she is met — workable, but worth deciding you are comfortable with.
Mason
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds and read correctly on sight — the trade word is already in every English speaker's vocabulary.
- One settled pronunciation, with no regional split to explain.
- Charts in Scotland, Canada and England & Wales as well as the US, so it travels across the English-speaking world.
To consider
- The word also names the Freemasons, and adults sometimes make that connection first. It is a mild association, not a heavy one.
- This name's wave is very recent, so nearly everyone who has it is a child or young teenager; there are few grown Masons to grow into.
- Surname-first names of this type arrive in clusters, and Mason shares its sound world with a whole cohort of similar choices.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Bennett
60%chance Bennett feels dated by 2040
Bennett is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Mason
85%chance Mason feels dated by 2040
Mason is coming down from a big peak (#2 in 2011). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Bennett and Mason in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Bennett and Mason?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Bennett and Mason — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Bennett or Mason — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Bennett or Mason?
- Mason, in 2025: Mason ranked #39 with 6,291 babies; Bennett ranked #40 with 6,268 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Bennett or Mason?
- Bennett. Over the last five years Bennett moved up 61 places; Mason moved down 28 places.
- Which is the older name, Bennett or Mason?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Bennett and Mason?
- About 67,500 people named Bennett are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 334,000 people named Mason are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Bennetts or Masons in the classroom?
- Bennett will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mason will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Bennett, Mason and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap